Seen and heard on the Chicago Transit Authority

Pets welcome on the CTA?

"I got on the Red Line one day and this guy had a cat. He had a cardboard carrier next to him, but he was holding the kitten who was behaving very well. We chatted for a bit and I found out he was taking her to the vet.

"So the next day I was on the Red Line with my friends, and a woman got on with a small dog in her bag. What is up with people bringing pets on the train? Is that even allowed?"

Well, I'm not sure of the exact policy, but certainly we've reported on pets aboard the CTA before. Such as the cockatiel on the El. And then there are the pigeons who aren't necessarily pets.

Comments

I spotted a puppy on the Orange Line on Christmas Eve. A guy was in the first car from the Loop all the way to Midway Station with a puppy. He stood the entire time, with the puppy cradled in his arms. It was a present for his partner.

Neither the conductor nor the passengers conveyed disapproval. People only commented on how cute it was or smiled at the pup.

I see pets in carriers on the Red Line all the time, exactly for those vet visitations. I don't think the CTA would honestly be against it if the animal is in a standard and secured cage. They have to get those carriers through the turnstyles and never did I see an agent comment on it.

(I await the snarky comment about the policy of children aboard, i.e. 'if people can bring their rowdy children aboard, why can't I bring my pet llama.')

I take my cats to the vet via the train. I specifically checked with the people working at my stop to see if pets were allowed and I was told that it's OK as long as they're in a carrier. But I like seeing the animals on board. They're fun and cute and great conversation pieces.

During the Taste of Chicago about 6-7 years back, I saw--as I was exiting the Brown Line at Adams--a man exiting the adjacent train car with an IGUANA perched on his shoulder, I kid you not! I guess it was on a leash, but this sucker was at least 12-15 inches long. I remember thinking that I would have run screaming from the train had I been in the same car as he.

One time on the Orange Line, some woman had this little tiny dog in a carrier. All was well for about three stops after she got on. Then there was this foul odor, obviously emanating from the cage. This little dog, very cute by the way, had used the bathroom. So the woman picks up the carrier, tips it vertically to look inside, and gets off at the next stop.

I'm okay with animals on the train, but mishaps like this are quite unpleasant.

Last summer, I boarded a Blue line train at Rosemont. At Harlem, a lone dog boarded the train. A few people made comments, but the dog just sat there until he got off at Damen. Not sure what happened after.

hey pets are allowed all the time!!! The blind people let their dogs on.. but what makes me cringe is when the bus gets crowded and the poor doggie's paws get stepped on by accident.. I've been seeing people move their seeing eye dogs all the way under the seat and that is a cool idea. Tell all your friends who have seeing eye dogs to stuff them underneath the seat that goes sideways and their paws wont get stepped on.

Back in the streetcar days and into the early 60's there was "Chicken Man".
An elderly black guy that carried a rooster with him everywhere on the CTA.
He always sat behind the motorman or the bus driver.

Doggone, No one ever believes me when I tell them this story but once, when I was in Paris I walking past a Metro entrance that people were coming out of and all of a sudden out runs this German Sheperd who then proceeds to go right into a barber shop and jump up on the chair. It looked for all the world as if he had rode across town by himself to get haircut. Everybody on the street burst out laughing at the same time. It was awesome.

In Boston dogs are allowed without a carrier if they are on leash. I think Boston realizes that people wouldn't be able to get their pets to the vet or kennel or whatever if they couldn't go on the T because they have no other way of getting around. I think the same is true in Washington, DC. If you are going to encourage people to go carless, you need to allow them to go to the same places with the same cargo on the subway that they would otherwise put in their car. It isn't reasonable to expect large dogs to have carriers.

I live in chicago an I have to take my dog to the groomers today but I don't own a carrier. She's a small white malti-poodle an very quite. Is it okay to take her on the bus, holding her, with no carrier?

People should worry about things that master like being a$$holes to one another. Who cares if pets travel on the trains if they are with their owners. Owners should clean up any messes made just like people should clean up after themselves and their kids

PS. I love how people complain of being allergic, and I feel bad for folks who are, but I am a walking fur and dander ball with my 4 cats and 4 dogs, and no one has ever broken out into an allergic fit (sneezing, hives, etc) when I board an airplane or train. So allergy sufferers need to quit using that complaint. People allergic to perfumes , deodorants, and all sorts of smells.